Envelop-manipulating mechanism.



L. E. MORRISON.

ENVELOP MANIPULATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED HARJG, 1908.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

m. m H w m H a H W 2 2 U Om m L. B. MORRISON.

ENVELOP MANIPULATING MECHANISM.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

3 SHEETBBHEET 2.

Wih IQJOQO m L. E. MORRISON.

ENVELOP MANIPULATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.26, 1908.

1,1 06,470, Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mvcnfoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEWIS E. MORRISON, 0F NEWARK, NEWJERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND MATTHIAS PLUM, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

ENVELOP-MANIPULATING MECHANISM.

To all whom it m (1y concern Be it known that 1, Lewis E. Momnsox, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county ofEssex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Envelop-Manipulating Mechanisms, of vvhich the followingis a specification;

This invention relates to an improvement in devices for manipulatingenvelops on printing machines.

More particularly it relates to a mechanism to be attached to andoperated in com bination with a platen press.

The particular object of the invention is to provide an automaticenvelop feed of simple construction and of such a character that it maybe readily attached to and operated by an ordinary job press, withoutnecessitating anyv changes in the construction of the press.

In the present instance there is disclosed an automatic envelopseparating mechanism, which separates the single envelop from a pile andpresents it to the feeding mechanism propcr, which latter conveys theenvelop on to the movable platen of the press. After the envelop isprinted, it is removed from the press by a delivery mechanism anddeposited in a suitable receptacle for final removal. The entireoperation is automatic and the various moving parts are actuated andoperated from the press itself.

The conveying or feeding mechanism and also the delivery mechanism havebeen described by me in two applications filed Feb. 17. 1908, Ser. No.416,203 and March 6, 1908, Ser. No. 419,480 respectively, and theconstruction of these two mechanisms do not form parts of thisapplication, except as to their performances with respect to thehandling of the envelop.

Thedetailed construction and operation of the various parts are fullyset forth in the following specification, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in, which- Figure 1 is a side view of a job pressequipped with an envelop manipulating mechanism embodying my invention,Fig. 2 is a detail view, showing how an envelop is separated, and Fig. 3is a perspective view of the envelop separating and feeding mechanism.Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a gripper and adjacent parts.

In the said drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates the frame of thepress. 2

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 26, 1908.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914. Serial No. 423,395.

is the oscillating form carrier, while 3 denotes the oscillating platen.The form carrier is operated by means of the connecting rods 4,-one oneither side,pivoted at 5 to the gear 6, which is driven from mainshaft 7by pinion 8. These parts are found on every job press of this type.

In front of the platen I mount two brackets 9' for the supports of thevarious parts comprised in my invention. On top of the brackets ismounted a feed table 10 and on this feed table is suitably supported aframe comprising the front and rear bars 11 and 12 and theside brackets13, 1,3. The rear bar 12 is provided with a slot 14, and the brackets 13have slots 15. Depending from and adjustably carried by the bar 12 aretwo side guides 16 at right angles to the bar, and three stops 1?, 17and 18. an arm 19 is fixed to the front bar 11 and supports the pile ofenvelops, which rest against the said stops. As seen in Fig. 2 thecenter stop 18 is so adjusted that between it and the arm 19 there isjust space enough to permit an envelop T5 to pass. Guided in the slots15 is a movable feed bar 20, which carries the two fingers 21, 21, whichserve to, separate the bottom envelop from the pile and push it outunder the stop 18 and on to the tapes 22, which together with theadjacent parts form the subject matter of the first application 'abovereferred to, so that only a brief description is necessary here.

Journaled in the brackets 9 is the one tapeshaft 23 upon which ispivoted two swinging arms 24', 24 which support the rear tapeshaft 25.The tapes are driven from shaft 23 through the instrumentality of thegears 26, 27, 28 and 29, which latter meshes with the big gear 6 on-thepress, while the gear 26 is fast on tapeshaft 23. While passing over the.tapes the envelop is guided by the adjustable side guides 30. The arms24 are each provided with a cam 31, which rests on theroll 32 on arm 33pivoted at 34 on the brackets 9. The arms 33 rest on two rolls 35, oneon either side of the platen, so that, as the platen moves the arms 33are oscillated and in turn oscillate the feeding mechanism. I

To insure that the envelop leaves the tapes at the right timecorrespondi-ng to the timing and position of the platen, there isprovided two adjustable stops 36 carried by rock shaft 37, which isrocked periodically through the instrumentality of the arm 38, link 39,bell crank 40 pivoted at 41, link 42 and arm 43 carrying cam roll 44,which lattcr coacts with the platen locking cam 45. This cam is found onall presses of this type and serves to lock the platen in printingposition in a well known manner.

After the envelop has been printed it is removed by the deliverygrippers, which will now be described.

Movably carried by the arms 33 is a gripper carriage 46 having two ormore grippers 47. The carriage is reciprocated in such a manner that itreaches its rearmos't position, when the platen has finished its forwardmovement and is in the position shown in Fig. 3. At this moment thegrippers are closed and seize the envelop, by each gripper having amember 48 which abuts the platen to effect the closing of the grg'pper.The gripper carriage now' travels forward and at the proper time, the-grippers are opened by abutting and passing under the rod 49, which isadjustably'carried by the arms 33 and the envelop is dropped in thereceptacle 50.

Referring to Fig. 4 it will be seen that the gripper 47 is made up of alower fixed jaw 80 upon which is pivoted an upper jaw 81. A flat spring82 tends to close the grippers. A sliding member 83 is mounted on thelower jaw 80 and is under tension of the spring 84 which pulls in adirection toward the upper gripper jaw. The movement of this slidingmember is limited by a slot and stops as shown. The aforesaid member 48is frictionally carried by the sliding member 83. When at the end of therearward stroke, the member 48 'abuts the end of the platen thus forcingthe member 83 away from the upper jaw which closes upon the envelop bythe spring 82., At the end of the forward stroke, the high point. 85 ofthe upper jaw meets and passes under the rod 49, this opens the gripperthe envelop drops in the receptacle 50 and the slide 83 underthe pull ofthe spring 84 snaps over the end of the upper jaw keeping the grippersopen as shown.

The gripper carriage is reciprocated by.

means of the oscillating arms 51, one on each side and one of which isconnected by link 52 to the connecting rod 4. As the latterreciprocates, the arms 51 swing on their pivot 53 and reciprocate theripper carriage 46 on the arms 33. Stretc ed between the arms 51 is arod 54 having a hook 55.

Between this hook and a rod 56 is a spring 57 which keeps the rod 56against the arms 51. The rod 56 is fixed in the lower end of a pair oflevers 58 pivoted at 59 on either side of'the brackets 9. The upper endof these levers are connected to the ends of the envelop'feed bar 20 bylinks 60, and a stop 74 limits; the forward throw of the levers 51.

See Fig. 3. From this it will be understood that as the arms 51oscillate, the levers 58 are oscillated on their pivots 59 and the feedbar 20 is reciprocated in the slots 15.

The operation is as follows: A pile of envelops isplaced on the support19 and fingers 20 and the side guides 16 are adjusted along the slot 14accordin to the width of the envelops, the flaps of the envelops beingon the under side and pointing forwardly. If the parts are in theposition shown in Fig. 3, the first movement, when the press starts,will cause the platen to move downward and rearward to coact with theform. Simultaneously the link 52 on the connecting rod 4 will moveforwardly and carry the delivery grippers with it, thereby swinging thearm 51 forwardly, which in turn will cause the levers 58 to move thefeed bar 20 rearwardly and the fingers 21 will enter between the flapand the body of the lowermost envelo and the latter will be pushed outfrom un er the pile, as seen in Fig. 2, and onto the tapes 22, whichconvey the envelop rearwardly until the latter is arrested by thestops36. It should be noted that when the single envelop leaves the pileand is pushed upon the tapes, these latter are elevated about as shownin Fig. 1, where the parts are shown in the position just before thesingle envelop drops on the tapes. By this arrangement, due to thecoaction of the platen rollers 35 and the arms 33, the enve under thepile and onto the tapes. This insures a sure feed and prevents bucklingor miscarriage of the envelop. During the next revolution of the pressthe platen moves upward and when it has reached its forward position,the stops 36 will be raised bythe coaction of the platen lockin cam 45"and the roll 44 as before describe and the envelop is dropped on theplaten, passes down with the latter, is printed, and as the platen movesup, the delivery grippers pass. rearwardly and seize the printedenvelop, before the next fresh one leaves the tapes. The parts are sotimed to the action of the platen locking cam, that the stops 36 are notraised before the delivery grippers have seized and removed the printedenvelop. But as the platen remains in its forward position but a fewseconds, this exchange of envelops thereop passes in a straight planefromon takes place so quickly, that it may be I said, that the printedenvelop has hardly left the platen before the edge of the freshone'falls thereon. In practice, however, the partsare adjusted to anicety, so that this operation takes place without causing any trouble.

i The above is thought to clearly set forth the construction andoperation of my envelop manipulating device,-and itshould be noted, thatit does not require any changes in the construction of the press, butthat my device is practically a complete unit, which can be attachedquickly to the press and only need to be connected up. The manner inwhich the envelop is handled, that is, fed toward the platen and removedtherefrom in the opposite direction possesses certain advantages,inasmuch as the operator does not have to walk around the machine inorder to inspect the printed envelop, as these are delivered practicallyat the same point, at which they are fed, only lower,

This device may of course be used on other types of presses, and changesto this end and for other cause may be made within the scope of theinvention and claims.

hat is claimed is:

1. The combination of a platen press having a movable platen, a movableform memher, a platen locking cam, an automatic envelop manipulatingmechanism comprising an automatic envelop feeding mechanism, anautomatic delivery mechanism, means for operating the said twomechanisms by the movement of the said form member, grippers carried bythe said delivery mechanism, means for closing the said grippers by contact with the said platen, means for oscillating the envelop feedingmechanism by the said platen, means for driving the said feed ingmechanism and means carried by the latter and operated by the saidplaten locking cam for arresting the travel of the en' velop over thesaid feeding mechanism at a given point.

2. The combination of a movable platen, an envelop separating mechanism,a feeding mechanism interposed between the latter and the said platen,movable members cooperating with the said platen for raising andlowering the said feeding mechanism and delivery grippers mounted toslide upon the said movable members for removing the printed envelopfrom the said platen when the said feedin mechanism is lowered.

3. The combination of a movable platen, an envelop separating mechanism,a conveying mechanism interposed between the separating mechanism andthe said platen for conveying the separated envelop to the latter, adelivery mechanism for removing the printed envelop from the platen andpivoted levers coacting with the platen for supporting the saidconveying and the said delivery mechanisms.

4. The combination of a movable platen, a movable form member, envelopseparating means, a delivery mechanism, levers pivoted intermediatetheir ends for operating the said separating means, pivoted levers foroperating the said delivery mechanism and means for oscillating all ofthe said levers in unison and in opposite directions by the said formmember.

5. The combination of a movable platen, envelop separating means,envelop feeding means, mechanism for arresting the movement of theseparated envelop in the said feeding means while the impression isbeing taken, means for delivering the printed envelop and mechanism forreleasing the unprinted envelop from the said feeding meanssubstantially at the same time the said delivering means remove theprinted envelop.

6. The combination of a movable platen, means for separating and feedinga single envelop to the same, means for delivering a printed envelopsubstantially simultaneously with the feeding of the next envelop to thesaid platen and movable members resting by gravity on the platen forsupporting the said envelop feeding and delivering means.

7. The combination of a platen, envelop separating means, conveyingmeans for conveying a single envelop to the platen, means for arrestingthe movement of the envelop before it reaches the platen, envelopdelivery grippers for removing the printed envelop from said platen,means for releasing the said single envelop substantially at the sametime the printed envelop is removed from the platen and supporting meanscommon to the said conveying means and the said de livery grippers.

8. The combination of a platen. envelop separating means, conveyingmeans for conveying a single envelop to the platen. means for arrestingthe movement of the envelop before it reaches the platen. envelopdelivery grippers for removing the printed envelop from said platen,means for releasing the said single envelop substantially at the sametime the printed envelop is removed from the platen and supporting meanscommon to the said conveying means and the said delivery grippers, andmeans for operating the latter on the said supporting means.

9. The combination of a platen, envelop conveying means, deliverygrippers movable members in frictional contact with the said platen andoperated thereby for supporting both the said conveying means and thesaid delivery grippers, opening means for the latter adjustably securedto the said movable members and means for reciprocating the saiddelivery grippers on the said movable members and in periodical contactwith the said opening means.

10. The combination of an envelop feeding mechanism an envelop deliverymechanism, members for supporting both of the aforesaid mechanisms,opening means for the said delivery mechanism carried by the saidmembers and devices for reciprocating the said delivery mechanism on thesaid members and in periodical contact with the said opening means.

11. The combination of envelop separating and feeding mechanisms,delivery grippers, movable members for supporting the latter and thesaid feeding mechanism, levers for reciprocating said delivery gripperson the said movable members and other movable members actuated by thesaid levers for operating the said separating mechanism.

12. The combination of envelop separating means, a conveying mechanism,delivery grippers, means for operating the latter, movable members forsupporting both the said conveying mechanism and the said deliverygrippers, and other members actuated by the said delivery gripperoperating means for operating the said separating means at a level abovethat of the operation of the said delivery grippers.

13. The combination of fixed supports, envelop separating means carriedthereby, delivery grippers, supporting means for the latter pivoted onthe said fixed supports, levers also pivoted to the said supports foroperating the said separating means and means for actuating the saidoperating levers and for reciprocating the said delivery grippers.

14. The combination of side frames, envelop separating means supportedthereby, delivery grippers, levers pivoted intermediate their ends onthe said frames for operating the said separating means, oscillatinglevers for operating the said delivery grip pers and for actuating thesaid first levers and yielding means for interconnecting the said twoSets of levers.

15. The combination of a platen, an envelop separating mechanism, aconveying mechanism, delivery grippers, levers for supporting both thesaid conveying mechanism and the said delivery grippers, the

said levers also operating the said conveying mechanism to convey anenvelop to the platen and for oscillating the said delivery grippers toremove an envelop from the platen, means for operating the saidseparating mechanism and devices for actuating said means and foroperating the said delivery grippers.

16. The combination of a platen, mechanisms for separating and conveyingan envelop thereto, a platen locking cam, connections operated by saidcam for timing the said envelop, means operated by the platen forlowering the envelop to the platen, delivery grippers carried by thesaid means, connections for operating the said delivery grippers uponthe said means carrying the same and for actuating the said separatingmechanism.

17(The combination of a platen, a form member, an envelop separatingmechanism,

delivery grippers, pivoted levers operated by the said platen foroscillating the said delivery grippers to remove an envelop from theplaten, connections for reciprocating the delivery grippers on the saidlevers, means for operating said connections by the said form member andother oscillating levers actuated by the said first connections foractuating the said separating mechanism.

Signed at Newark in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey this19th day of March A. D. 1908.

LEWIS E. MORRISON.

WVitnesses:

Ivan KONIGSBERG, M. M. RIEMANN.

